Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1887-04-21
CROATIAN PEASANTS.
The Dress and Customs of an Interesting
Offshoot Of the Siav Race

The Dress and Customs of an Interesting
OHshoot Of the Slav Race
The Croatian peasant costume pre-
sents some peculiarities. The men
wear often the gray jacket and broad
trousers that are especially Hungarian.
They are notinteresting. The dress OF
the women is more picturesque, and to
see this to the best advantage one must
visit the market-place. This is not
especially true of Agram. You follow
the same rule everywhere in Europe
in London, Paris, Brittany, the Loire
valley, Spain, Italy, Germany. 1t is
the last place invaded by fashion. Here
you witness the survival of the obso-
lete. Here you hear spoken the dialect
of past ages and see styles of dress that
date back to the Renaissance or indi-
vidual characteristics. No place is so
unconventional. Nowhere is there so
little restraint on national peculiarities
or individual characteristics. So |
went to the market as the only locality
where l was likely to see that in the
Croatian dress and character that dis
tinguished the people from other ma
tionalities about them. The market
place is broad, open, unadorned
space. On one side of it the most fash
ionable cafes, with journals, though
not many, from Berlin, Paris, Vienna,
Buda-Pesth and Trieste; on the oppo-
site side few shops, none of which
would be called fashionable in large
city, and around a great portion of
the space the women, most OF them
squatted on the ground, selling their
wares from trays or baskets. A mar
ket-house would be an unparalleled
luxury at Agram. Here and there |
saw few booths, where men sold fruit
and meat, or women, who seemed lit
tie better off than the rest, exposed
small articles for domestic use. The
majority of the vendors were women,
whose whole stock in trade was only
worth few tlorins. Most of them were
barefooted, though some of them wore
sort of buckskin laced up the ankle.
The costume is made, as in Hungary,
of coarse homemade linen, with band
of red about the bottom of the skirt, a
red belt about the waist, perhaps a
bright-hued apron and a string or strings
ofcoral about the neck. Isay "strings, "
for the ornament is composed of so
many parts in some cases that they
can not readily be counted. Not even
in Naples, the center of the coral in
dustry, have / seen this form of per,
sonal decoration so freely used. 1t is
evident that the profits of the market
ing 90 largely to this vain luxury.
Sometimes the sleeves form a great
puff like ball ending at the elbow,
their extremitles, as also the apron,
being occasionally adorned with coarse
lace. A handkerchief of brilliant dyes
covers the head The man who in.
vented the handkerchief is entitled tc
even more consideration than he who
invented sleep. 1t is the head cover
ing of most of the women of Europe
1t therefore saves millions in millinery
bills. If poor woman is the happy
possessor of two, she transports hel
worldly effects from place to place il
the second. Trunks and valises are
thereby dispensed with. Nearly all the
millions of handkerchiefs, specimens O.
which are seen all over South America
in the heart of Asia and Africa, ant
serving as head-gear for great par
of the present women of Europe ema
nate from British looms.
There is among the Agram womer
that increasing tendency to strong
liquor remarked everywhere in Europe
Near the market-place | remarked nu
merous drinking-places where wer,
sold gin, rum, brandy, curacao, char
treuse, vermouth and all the othe
liquors initiated from those of France
Holland and England. Here they cal
be bought at from three kreutzers tn
small flask to any quantity desired
They are of local manufacture and no
of bad quality, but that is no reasol
why so many hard-faced women shoul'
be seen at the counter inverting tn
glass TASKS from which they are i'm
bibing, or carrying off a larger quantit
in bottles, pitchers and tin pals to ge
tipsy over at their leisure. This is
small city for so coarse vice. A roy
of dissipated women drinking brandy
gin or schnapps at public bar doe
not so much surprise one in London o
Amsterdam, nor even in Paris or Mad
rid. Here it is different. No on
would suppose that so unfeminine
vice was so generally disseminated
A0ra8 Cor, San Francisco Chronicle.